Sept 20 (Reuters) - A tentative labor deal with General
Motors Co sends a clear signal to Ford Motor Co and
Fiat Chrysler that Canada's autoworkers union is
determined to secure new investment in local plants, the union's
president said on Tuesday.

The deal includes pension concessions by the union, Unifor,
and a rare shift in work from Mexico to an Ontario facility,
averting a strike that would have shut some of GM's Canadian
plants and affected some top-selling vehicles, such as the
Chevrolet Equinox.

Under pattern bargaining, the first deal typically sets a
template for the other automakers' contracts. A second target
company will be selected shortly.

"We have been absolutely straightforward with the automakers
that we want investment in Canada," Unifor National President
Jerry Dias said in an interview. "This shows that to the other
companies."

Unifor wants Ford to keep its engine plant operating in
Windsor, Ontario and called on Fiat Chrysler to upgrade a paint
shop at its Brampton, Ontario plant.

The GM deal, reached early Tuesday, will ensure "hundreds of
millions" in investment, Unifor said, including new jobs and
higher wages. GM is expected to invest about C$400 million
($303 million) in Oshawa and C$120 million at the St Catharines
powertrain plant, the Globe and Mail reported. Union members
vote on the deal on Sunday.

The union agreed to a pure defined contribution plan for new
workers, the first such plan under the master agreement that
covers most assembly workers at GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler.
Veteran employees have defined benefit pensions and those hired
since 2012 have a hybrid plan.
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